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We are all safe and back at home after what was an incredible drive. As promised, I did not make the drive easy. The route meant that you needed to scale heights, take slip faces in your stride and negotiate and navigate a number of tricky cross overs and turns. End result, we got to 500 mters from the end of our drive before there was any risk of soemthing going wrong, and in the end, even that stuck looked a lot worse than it was. So what to say to the incredible drivers from this morning? @Ken Hüüdma - brilliant 2nd lead. Controlled, careful and you rerouted where needed with ease. You really have that vehicle under your spell. @Alphin Aloor - once we got your tyre pressure sorted, it was a different drive for you. Considering it's one of your first drives, well done. You managed almost everythign thrown at you. @N@ved - it felt you were just a little tentative to start with and after that, you had the little jeep flying through everything with ease. Don't be scared to push it, it can take it. @Saneesh Thomas - you did really well and handle your Jeep with confidence. Don't worry that it cannot make it over the criss cross elements. A wheel might come in the air for a second but it will stay stable. @Abdul Rahman Abdul Kader - A great drive from you today. I think you understand the capabilities of the car well and are getting there with control. SOmetimes, you need to push a little more. I saw a few times when you did not take the high line. @Federico De Chirico - you've got just that bit more power and the diff lock to get you out of trouble. Both of them indicate to me you can push just a little harder on the gas. @Explored Dubai - almost got out unscathed today. I can see a massive growth and improvement each drive. You are learning more how to manage the car than let it manage you. @Danish Mohammad - I think that as you get more tired, as the sand got softer and as we got more into teh drive you started to get a bit tired. Not surprising becuase today was tough. But i can see the improvement. @Niki Patel - we are starting to see Niki uncaged! Now you start to see what your car can do, we see more and more confidence and capability to self recover and avoid those moments when things go a little wrong. Great drive. @Pickey Singh - I think that FJ is great car for you. In my humble opinion you still hold back a little on the power, but your control and your skill off road is getting better and better. I also love how you support everything and everyone on the drive. @Federico Galbieri - nicely criven, nicely controlled, nicely navigated. One or two problems because of churned sand, but a good solid drive and one that show us all that you are listening, observing and learning: and then applying. @Lorenzo Candelpergher - I sort of wish there was a medal for the best support it's possible to have on a drive. Simply put there is a 100% confidence in working with you on a drive. A lead cannot ask for or expect more. Perfection. @imranaasghar81 - aaargh! and it was all going so well. Apart from the little slip at the end a great day. Well done. See you soon in the sand.

Hi everyone, Good day ahead!! Thank you guys ☺️ for a perfect morning fewbie plus drive. Thank you @Jeepie for a great lead and selection of terrains and @Veedooshee for the second lead. The drive was a perfect combination of ridge rides, small dunes and technical dunes. It was a pleasure to drive with a great convoy today...with two roaring monsters @Abu Muhammadand @Francois Germishuys and our cool CF @Nivin and sweep @Mehmet Volga and of course @Ahab Shamaa with his extreamly extream FJ behind me. I think me , @Ahab Shamaa and @Mehmet Volga had all the real fun today being at the tail end of the convoy. It was nice to see @Abu Muhammad @Nivinand @Francois Germishuys moving and at times felt like @Nivinrunning for his life like a small fish in between two sharks. Me and my little monster were looking for patches to get away from the sand churned up by @Abu Muhammad beast. And finally at the RISE & SHINE time we all had enough time to evaluate our selves conquering the heights. It was nice to see @Ashok chaturvedi charging to the top with his pajero (for which he had doubted the capability of the car in first attempt 🤪)All together I believe we all had a clean great drive ..even though we had few refusals and stucks which is a part of this great sport. Thank you all once again and catch up soon in the Sands. Keep cool👍👍

Thank you @Jeepie and everyone for fun drive. We had good times and hopefully see you 🔜 on Sands.

It was a shame that we were only nine cars, or was it? Because we ended up with a very strong convoy and less cars also means less people getting into trouble😜 After a bit of a bumpy start with all the green, and both @Nivin and @Mehmet Volga playing with the ropes, trying out all the recovery skills so @Abu Muhammad had to come to the rescue, we managed to drive quite a lot. I took you all to the low and easy ridges near the bottom of Pink Rock to see how you were coping and to gain some confidence, which didn't seem really necessary because everyone was doing great. It was a bit of a shame that there are so many cross tracks everywhere, but I hope the shaking kept you alert. Finding our way around Pink Rock and finding a lot more ridges with @Veedooshee keeping enough distance to be able to reroute where needed and sometimes riding the ridge longer than I could, I felt confident we were all ready to climb some bigger dunes and do a bit of criss crossing. We started with the dune next to Big Red and even there it was completely churned up, but we all got through and up. @Francois Germishuys you helped out others when they were having refusals in a very calm way and I think you did a good job leaving a clean track for the people at the rear us much as possible. I am just sad I didn't manage to get you stuck😝 @Shaaz Sha and @Ahab Shamaa you did very well at the back of the convoy and I am glad we didn't need to use Ahab,s winch. @Ashok chaturvedi were managing well and a stuck with a little bit of shoveling is something that happens to all of us sometimes ( unless your name is Francois) I thought it was very good that you didn't give up and just tried again and succeeded. Well done everyone

There are a few people who successfully paint a picture in your mind in the way they write up, ordinary stuff becomes extra-ordinary. @Ale Vallecchi and @Mohamed Seidam along with our witty @Wrangeld are just those authors of such magnificent literature. I can read on for ages and imagine myself being there in their thoughts, but alas its time for me to get ready for my afternoon drive.

Drive Report These chilly winter mornings are definitely something to look out for, and in the company of such an amazing group this makes it even better! Like i mentioned in the briefing there are so many different types of drives. I could describe this drive as a hands-on drive where all of you could showcase and practice your skills and where some shoveling, wiggling, and pushing was involved. We took off in the larger dunes this area had to offer and made our way further East with the intention to find some clean virgin dunes which we eventually found closer to the exit track. On the way there we had to cross some mild technical dunes that came with some crests, refusals, and stucks, but for a convoy this size nothing to serious. With an excellent second lead @frederic demolder, followed by a few Pajeronitees (is that a word ?), @Sai Baskaran @Nikola Bozovic and @Mike Kraher who are coming to grips with the fact that the Pajero truly is a capable off-roader in the right hands and at the right psi. Well done guys ! Friends @Bala Krishnan and @Santhosh kumar Rajasekaran who both drove well. Unfortunately towards the end the Range Rover decided to act up a bit, and disconnecting the battery a few times did the trick to get it starting again. As the engine was in limp mode most of the time i can imagine it wasn’t easy to try to unleash the full V8 potential. @Sanjay Malik who has been off-roading before felt really at home with the beautiful Land Cruiser, and @Paul Zeitoun took the Dodge Ram to new heights and lows with massive power and beautiful roars on the dunes. Well done ! We had a very capable Wrangler crew with @Aus Alzubaidi @Nihal17 @Luca Bregni but also some serious girlpower with @Sara EL FANIDI and @Kaile Barrameda Glad to see you back in the saddle Sara, you drove with full confidence today ! A big shoutout to @Mukundan Nair who decided to support this drive and was an amazing help to all of us. Thanks buddy ! See you guys and gals soon back in the sand !

Sorry for withdrawing from the drive @Shehab Alawadhi. My XTERRA"s steering box developed a leak and is gone for repair. I didn't want to deny the chance to somebody else incase the car didn't come out after repairs. The car got ready yesterday night and I could have joined but didn't want to take a chance and deny somebody else the fun. We will have soon a drive together - hopefully next week. I suppose the offroad bug has bitten me and I'm seriously infected. Hopefully nobody comes up with a treatment for this bug in the near future.

Thanks @Jeepie what an amazing short and long combination of technical, sidie, ridge riding and at a speedy continous pace. It was a busy day and sand was messed near everywhere which made it more challenging to keep up.. @Veedooshee you are such a good driver that following the leader was made it look so easy as I was behind you to watch. Only challenge was to keep on your tracks and a couple time it became like a ball room dance as I had no idea that you were circling to come out and I followed along your tracks. two Pajero in sinc. must be a site to watch. Was pleased that there were no one in the convoy seriously stuck just few tugs and spading a bit. I in the very end of the drive felt that my pajero lacked some power climbing but then changed my technique and did the same climb 3 times over. Altogether another memorable drive. Thanks again @Jeepie for the this adventure drive.

Dear Wrangeld.. Thank you so much for todays wonderful drive we enjoyed a lot. I Agree.. was tired little bit, got disappointed because my car shows coolant temp heat BUT yes I got a very good help by crew member which help me to gain my confidence back & keep car safe. (Please advise ..any modification required so this coolant high temp. shall not show in future on sand rides) I really thanks to entire Carnity team for making these rides possible for us with all safety parameters, it was a great fun day. Also a special thanks to entire Convoy members for their support and help. Regards...

@Veedooshee, @Ashok chaturvedi @Nivin @Francois Germishuys @Shaaz Sha @Mehmet Volga @Abu Muhammad @Ahab Shamaa Posted some pictures in the gallery

10 years later .... In a weekend I and my wife paying a visit to our elder son’s house .. after a nice dinner my son’s wife prepared , we decide to have our dessert on the terrace to enjoy what was left from the reflection of the sunset on the landscape.... time for bed every one got to bed and next morning and as my biological timer to wake up at dawn for the prayer and never go to sleep after that. Walking on my cracking toes in an attempt not to wake up the folks... gently preparing my double espresso without sugar ( Lavaza has been always my second wife , she knows it and happy as long as it doesn’t go further 😆 ) .... watching the fascinating sunrise I leaned my back on the super soft couch and closed my eyes and just let go ... 10 vehicles unrecognizable from far away , though their flags to the contrary were familiar carrying the symbol of big Gray C in a red back ground enclosed in a black circle.... in a sec I wondered was it a dream .. when I opened my eyes the sun as It didn’t move as if it got stuck waiting for a rescuer ! ... I turned my head and as if a shock struck me when I read the title of a book on my son’ s side table DESERTS OF THE WORLD - stories around campfire by @Ale Vallecchi

@Rahimdad I really appreciate. I always believe I was born to drive but forced to work. Used to attend bike rally's in my younger days. Now kids are all grown up, standing on their feet and plenty of time and energy for me. Wifey may not like me chasing girls but will allow for chasing the dunes. To tell you the truth I liked the carnity club and will not miss a drive if possible.

They are not open today and I can only pick up the car tomorrow.

Noted @Thomas Varghese always trying to help and encourage enthusiasts so they do not miss on any opportunity to learn. Insha Allah next time.

Thanks for the generous offer @Rahimdad. The car is ready at the garage since yesterday night but I didn't pick it up.

I think we will become good friends and drive mates for n the future inshallah. Inshallah soon one day I will go from sweep to second lead so I can learn to navigate better in the virgin desert sands and to make better decisions and choose better route options. Inshallah everyone will be proud and enjoy you leading the drive as much as I know I will in sweep! Hope I can get a few amazing pictures of all our cars, thankfully I have my uncle with me to be my Camera man 😂

No worries @Shehab Alawadhi, it is a pleasure to hear from you. After reading your message I literally fall on the floor laughing and my family now thinks they need to admit me at the mental hospital, I guess we are alike. Insha Allah I will try to make a good lead and try not to trouble you so much, hope I can make you proud as your lead and I too continue to learn from our great Carnity team.

@Rahimdad sorry I haven’t been replying or reacting. I’ve been super busy this week. I was waiting for the convoy line up and when I saw I was in sweep I literally jumped and shouted in joy, my family thought I was crazy 😂. I can’t wait for tomorrow. Im sad for the people that left the drive due to their personal things and hello to all the other people joining. @Thomas Varghese I was hoping to take some nice car pictures with you, but inshallah next time we will get to drive together. @Rahimdad inshallah I will make you proud as a your sweep team, I hope to learn more from the whole Carnity team!

Thanks @Rahimdad@Wrangeld for an awesome drive today. It was really exhilarating day in desert with lots of soft sand, steep slides and awesome play areas with beautiful slide slopes. Self assessment : loved every bit of my wranglers ride today. It truly is a mean machine. Important lesson learnt - lock the frequency on walkie talkie 🙂🙂. Only time I had refusal today, my walkie talkie jumped the frequency and I missed important instructions from Richard in my self recovery mode..though managed to find my way out, it truly ratifies the safety norm - don't overlook the minutest of details in every tool we have. Another tip that I practiced today and cherished every bit of it (learnt after watching multiple offroading guides/videos and practiced today) - while going down a steep slope, look under the side view mirror (not in the mirrors, under the mirror) to get a clear view of slope....worked great for me so sharing with all... Thanks all for great afternoon. My daughter and dad both enjoyed a lot in your company.

It's been sometime since I enjoyed a drive with you @Jeepie and was glad to have made it today. Thank you so much Marjan for an excellent drive taking us through this route (while I thought I would recognize the way but actually didn't😬), only the pink rock stayed where it is🤪. Great drive guys...cheers see you all soon😊 Thank you @Ashok chaturvedi sir...I totally see that point of view of the Pajero following Pajero..but ya challenges are part of the learning process and we just handle them...😄. Kudos for doing those spins well, it was so enjoyable..totally agree...

Great pace drive, unfortunately we had a traction problem with 1 car and right after we drove him out to the track we had another car overheating... I hope it's all easy fix... thanks @Foxtrot Oscar for the lead, was very nice , also @Ale Vallecchifor the sweep, always teaching us some tricks ... thanks also all drivers, everyone was handling very well.... I uploaded Some pictures in the gallery. See you in the sand !!!

@Wrangeld @Lorenzo Candelpergher thank you for another great drive and feedback! Confidence has grown a lot and cannot wait for the next one!

Fantastic trip today kudos to the marshals and next time I'll bring my chainsaw!!! :-)))

Waoo.. what a drive it was.. really amazing. @Wrangeld thank you my Leader and Marshal for such an amazing drive. Under your Guidance, getting more control and fun. I can say today is the Lucky day. @Lorenzo Candelpergher Thanks a lot Man, level of confidence is different whenever you are in the Convoy. Our Radio Caption is really amazing, love his voice. Everyone did really well in the drive today. See you soon in the sand.

Thanks @Wrangeld for great drive today. Fantastic location! I really enjoyed it.

As there are unforgettable places at different times there are definitely some people their presence in our past, present and future is an honor. And @Rahimdad you are definitely one of them.

@Thomas Varghese glad to know you and your X are back together again. I have a vaccine for this bug already, but I am not sharing the formula, it will cost you much more to get the vaccine than continue off-roading. Fortunately I have one position in my convoy and can make an exception if you want to join. Let me know before 11 am so that I can add you to my convoy. Looking forward to hearing from you soon.

Very informative write-ups!

I am speechless on what I just read. I was imagining in my mind just people sitting around a campfire and @Ale Vallecchi just telling stories. I miss the times where we could all gather in giant group and bbq or make a giant bonfire and talk or listen to music. Inshallah all this goes well and I hope to hear @Ale Vallecchi tell his stories while we eat delicious different types of food. Great story telling!!

Did Anyone check out 2021 xterra? Any review or feedback?

New Xterra is down in terms of power and torque. But it is a well equipped off-roader with rear diff locker, hill descent etc. They should’ve included VQ40 as an option atleast.

The specs are low.. Hp and torque.. Around 165 bhp and 235 lb ft But the 0 to 100 is 0.5 sec faster than outgoing model. Confusing... Is it because of the 9 speed automatic?

@jodha singh shekhawat time you share the details of off-road ready "New" Xterra that you have seen in Nissan Showroom. Just curious to know if its still 4 cylinder or not.....?

Don’t expect too much of it. It will be an underpowered SUV, 4 cylinders, 2.5L...

Thank you @Frederic for this encouragement. The team was fantastic this morning. Indeed it was a very full morning including driving and manual work! 😂I think we will be ready next year for the Dakar or the Camel Trophy.😉👍 Thank you to everyone who helped me get the Discovery out of a tricky section.🙏👍 See you next time !

Never question the ability of your car. You will see other Carnity members on your drive very soon driving that exact same car and taking it anywhere. Enjoy every drive and focus on keeping the pressure at 13-14 psi throughout the drive. See you soon !

thanks @Frederic: After last weeks drive i really started questioning my ability and my car. Today was fantastic thanks for your kind words and for making me feel better .. see you soon

Thank you Fred and Mukundan for the drive today, really enjoyed it and enjoyed the socializing during the stops, really a nice group today. Got to still better understand my Ram, amazing on large surface no matter how high the dune, but gets very tricky in tiny spaces 🙃🙃 Video to follow

Thank you @Wrangeld, really enjoyed driving with you today... you guys are amazing, helping us gain confidence with every drive to trust and enjoy our stock vehicle 😀.

Sorry to hear that , hope the issue is easily resolved

Hello @Foxtrot Oscar. Sorry for the last minute drop out but. My car isn’t starting up.. seems like the battery is down, won’t be able to make it to the drive. Please continue the drive without me.

We are using channel 1

My sincere apologies @Jeepie, something has come up and I will not be able to join this drive tomorrow. Drive safe and see you next time!

Hi @Barisyuregir, since it is your first drive you are exempted from bringing flag and radio, we can share a spare radio, but from next drive onwards you will have to acquire both for safety reasons.

N@ved @N@ved Ken Hüüdma @Ken Hüüdma Federico De Chirico @Federico De Chirico Federico Galbieri @Federico Galbieri Niki Patel @Niki Patel Danish Mohammad @Danish Mohammad Alphin Aloor @Alphin Aloor Abdul Rahman Abdul Kader @Abdul Rahman Abdul Kader Pickey Singh @Pickey Singh Saneesh Thomas @Saneesh Thomas Explored Dubai @Explored Dubai imranaasghar81 @imranaasghar81 Lorenzo Candelpergher @Lorenzo Candelpergher Hardik Mody @Hardik Mody PLEASE NOTE THAT THE START POINT FOR THE DRIVE HAS CHANGED TO THE FOLLOWING https://goo.gl/maps/6pK1UqzSV7jQDZDy9 Dear Salman As you have a confirmed drive in the afternoon and there was one driver with no drive, we have closed the waitlist for the drive tomorrow morning and I am afraid you were not added. I will be supporting Rahimdad so look forward to seeing you then.

Thanks Ale, v informative! We need a campfire in the desert to listen to these stories!

Sounds tiny bit similar to our colorful past where we fixed radiators with m-seal and cigg butt, brake caliper with tin can and axle, suspensions and exhaust repair with tie-down straps few times, but nothing close to land mines. These tourist and tour operator are really brave heart. Looking forward for more excitement, soon.

LONG TREKS – OBJECTIVES, PREPARATION, AND MANAGEMENT Waking up on the first morning of a long desert trek is always very exciting, and a little concerning (let’s say 80% excitement and 20% concern). While for the group’s members the objective of the trip is to see as much as possible, take nice pics, and have fun (for them it’ll be excitement 100%), from the point of view of the group’s leader and the crew, the objective is to provide the above services while ensuring that the whole itinerary is covered timely and without incidents, with the security and comfort of the passengers as the first and foremost concern. Thus, let’s focus on that 20% of concerns which must be dealt with before the trip starts. These would normally fall under the following headings: local team, local cars, water supply, fuel supply, kitchen, camping equipment. Usually, these tours are managed with the support, and active participation, of a local team. They usually come from local tribes (in the case of Niger, but also Mali, Algeria and Libya, it's Tuaregs), and are headed by a senior, and most respected, member of the local community. The stature of the leader (in an abstract sense, even though Tuaregs are also very tall) is very important, as these trips usually cross areas of conflict, often between local tribes and sometimes between local tribes and national authorities, which require not only a person of experience in desert caravans, but also someone capable of commanding the respect of, and being able to mediate with, anybody interested in making the life of the convoy difficult. This particular itinerary was going to take us to the border area with Niger and Tchad, skirting the foothills of the Tibesti plateau. This is an area of conflict between Niger’s government and local Tebu tribes, which control this territory, and defend it in arms, including land mines. Other conflict areas may be the south of Algeria, the border between Egypt, Sudan and Libya, some areas of Mali, and border areas between Ethiopia and Eritrea. Here we already knew of another Italian convoy travelling toward the Tibesti, led only by their tour leader, who had ventured into a contested area, only to see one of the cars explode on a land mine, and 1 of the group's members losing his life. Their downfall had been the tour leader's wish to stray into an unknown area, and refusal to bring along a local Tebu guide, for the time necessary to cross that particular stretch of desert (these Tebu “guardian angels” stop all convoys along the beaten tracks, and board the leader’s car to escort non-army, non-governmental caravans, through the danger area, in exchange for a “donation”). Remembering this unfortunate accident, we had made sure our team was led by a senior Tuareg, and that he carried also enough money to manage any unplanned detours and carry out any “voluntary” transactions. LOCAL TEAM: Done. Next chapter – Local cars As the group usually travels to these distant locations by air (although I have friends who have driven their own cars, one holiday at a time, from Italy all the way down to these remote places), sourcing local, and most of all, reliable cars is essential. Toyota, with its Land Cruisers, has the monopoly of the Saharan market. The cars are all manual gears, and for the most part with minimal electronic equipment, which enormously facilitates their repairs, if needed, during the trip. Besides a local “chief”, each convoy usually is manned with a professional mechanic (and drivers, as well). Almost all drivers have either an army background, or have driven these routes with commercial trucks, hence are all experienced in impromptu repairs. These may range from simple things such as fixing a punctured tire, to averagely complex things, like changing a belt (there is always an extra belt aboard each of these cars, knotted around the shift lever), to more complex problems such as repairing a leaf spring suspension, plugging a leak in a radiator, or fixing the gear box. The mechanic’s ingenuity is directly proportional to his previous experiences, and sometimes reaches fantastic heights. For example, how do you fix a punctured radiator if you don’t have a soldering iron? Of course, first try with toothpaste: plaster it on top of the puncture, and hope the heat hardens it, and plugs the leak. Failing that (which in this trip, it did), you should clearly put some tobacco from your cigarettes inside the radiator, so that (don’t ask me why, or how), it “boils” up toward the leak, and plugs it from the inside. And this we did, to momentarily solve a radiator problem which occurred in the middle of the Erg of Bilma, for long enough (2 days) to reach the village of Dirkou, and its better equipped mechanic. Therefore, seasoned Toyota Land Cruisers, a good mechanic surrounded by experienced drivers, a minimum of essential spare parts, and a lot of creativity (and some luck) in solving problems: that’s all is needed to face a major desert trek. LOCAL CARS: DONE. Third chapter - Water requirements

Good morning Can I be on the waitlist for this drive please

Always try to recover in a straight line as much as possible. If straight isn't possible, then a slight diagonal angle would have saved this rollover; instead of recovering at this acute 90-degree angle, which was a perfect recipe for disaster. Secondly, speed of pull was too high for the first attempt, always start with soft pull first which help break the sand resistance gently. Minimum 3 soft pulls before attempting medium strength pull. Heights of people with so much lack of mere common sense to not to put basics of physics and geometry in such a simple application.